The 2017 Canadian F-Class Championships have concluded. As the event preceded the 2017 F-Class World Championship (in the same venue) by a few days, many of the world’s best F-Class shooters were on hand at the Connaught Ranges outside Ottawa, Ontario. Competition was fierce — as were the winds at times. The challenging conditions gave shooters a good test in preparation for the FCWC which gets underway in earnest on Saturday, August 12, 2017.

Kevin Chou Wins Second Straight F-TR Canadian Title
Canada’s Kevin Chou (Aurora, ON) shot great to win the F-TR match with a strong 426v30 score. This made was two wins in a row for Kevin, who also took the F-TR Title in 2016. Two Yanks completed the podium, with Jeff Rorer (420v25) taking second place, and Robby Burton (418v25) placing third.

Rhys Ireland Wins F-Open Canadian Championship
The F-Open Championship was a tightly-fought match that went down to the wire. Rhys Ireland won the Individual F-Open Championship with a 434v30. Just one point behind at 433v39 was Australia’s Rod Davies. Third, again just one point back, was Canadian Barry Price (433v30).

Team USA (Litz) Wins F-TR Team Championship
American F-TR Teams managed a clean sweep of the top three places in the 4-shooter LUM Team Match. Team USA Litz secured the team victory with a 875v71 score. Finishing second in F-TR was USA Team Swartzkopf (871v74), followed by Team USA Hardin (870v72).

Who can explain the lines and dots on this shot tracking chart used by Bryan Litz?

Team USA (Nancy) Wins F-Open Team Title
The F-Open 4-shooter Team Competition was also dominated by American squads which finished first and second. Winning F-Open Gold, with a score of 888v98, was Team USA (Nancy), coached by Nancy Tompkins, America’s “First Lady of Shooting”. Finishing second was Team USA (Walker) with 887v100, followed by the Canadian F-Open Team at 887v90.

F-Open Team USA (Nancy) was packed with talent. Shooters were: Shiraz Balolia, Ken Dickerman, James Laney, and Pat Scully. Another American deserves mention, John Myers of the Texas F-Open Team. We believe John’s 225v27 was the high score for the team match, and he was the only competitor to shoot “clean”, not dropping a point.

Sebastian Lambang, inventor/builder of SEB Rests, competed in the Canadian Championships. Over half the competitors used SEB rests — Joy-Pods for F-TR and NEOs and MINIs for F-Open.

Conditions were windy and challenging at the 2017 Canadian F-Class Championships. Will the strong winds continue for the F-Class World Championships (FCWC) starting tomorrow, August 12, 2017. Only the wind gods know for sure. Good luck to all the FCWC competitors from all nations!

The Canadian F-Class Championships took place last week at the Connaught Range outside Ottawa, Ontario. American shooters performed well, taking top honors in both the F-Open and F-TR divisions. In the F-Open class, Bullets.com President Shiraz Balolia won his second straight Canadian National Championship (he also won in 2014). This year he was shooting a .300 WSM. The long, heavy .30-Cal bullets offer a ballistic advantage… IF you can handle the additional recoil. Shiraz told us: “This [match] was particularly challenging and satisfying as there were some incredible shooters from around the world including two World Champions, three U.S. National Champions, Canadian National Champions, British Champions, and European Champions shooting alongside me. It was an honor to shoot alongside the best shooters in the world.”

A large number of American shooters ventured to Ontario for the Canadian F-Class Championships.

James Crofts shot consistently to win the F-TR division, and Paul Phillips finished second. Of Jim, the “man to beat” in F-TR, fellow competitor Tom Hittle said: “Congratulations to James Crofts for the overall win in TR. It was well deserved. Thank you for all the guidance and tips over the last couple of years.” After the match, James told us: “I want to thank a few companies that helped me get where I am. BRUX Barrels — I have now won three Nationals with Brux barrels. Jim Borden from Borden Actions — your action was smooth and precise. And Ray Bowman (PR&T) who, hands down, builds the best rifles available. I have used two different PR&T rifles to win U.S. F-TR Nationals. Proof is with the gold medals.”

In Team competition, a “dark horse” squad from North Carolina pulled off a real upset, taking Gold for the 4-man team event. The “Team NC” boys (James Hittle, Tom Hittle, Ed Shelley, and Greg Denekamp), benefited from good wind-calling by the Hittles plus some very accurate rifles. Tom Hittle remarked: “Ray Bowman of PR&T rifles were used by each team member. Thank you Ray for incredible-shooting hammers.”